Earth ChangesS


Question

Outgassing? US: Mysterious odor stumps Maryland officials--Do you smell it?

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© Associated Press Photo/The Press of Atlantic City, Bill GrossResidents of Maryland and West Virginia smell rotten eggs.
A strange smell reminiscent of rotten eggs is pervading areas of Maryland and West Virginia, and state officials have no idea where it's coming from, reports WBALTV.

People in Montgomery, Prince George's and Frederick counties began calling in reports Wednesday that they had smelled mercaptan - a substance added to otherwise odor-free natural gas. Maryland officials then alerted the office of Jimmy Gianato, West Virginia's state director of Homeland Security and Emergency management, about a possible gas leak.

Info

Auroras Over Norway

How about a plane ticket to Norway? A solar wind stream due to brush past Earth's magnetic field around Feb. 14th could spark romantic lights around the Arctic Circle. Gabi and Gunter Reichert send this preview from Henningsvaer, a fishing village in Norway's Lofoten islands:

Norway Aurora
© Gabi and Gunter Reichert
Note the wildlife in the foreground. "We were taking pictures of the Northern Lights on Feb. 10th when this fox strolled right into our photo," say Gabi and Gunter. "He looked at us from a distance of 4 or 5 meters, yawned, and then laid down. We illuminated him with a little lamp to get this composite of green auroras with a red onlooker."

Aurora watchers red and otherwise should be alert for polar geomagnetic storms next week. Aurora alerts make a nice Valentine's Gift, too: text or voice!

Bizarro Earth

Tonga: Earthquake Magnitude 6.1 - 12th February

Tonga Quake_120211
© USGSEarthquake Location
Date-Time:
Saturday, February 12, 2011 at 17:57:56 UTC

Sunday, February 13, 2011 at 06:57:56 AM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
20.785°S, 175.589°W

Depth
81 km (50.3 miles)

Region
TONGA

Distances
55 km (35 miles) NW of NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga

290 km (180 miles) SW of Neiafu, Tonga

325 km (200 miles) E of Ndoi Island, Fiji

2010 km (1250 miles) NNE of Auckland, New Zealand

Bizarro Earth

Chile: Earthquake Magnitude 6.1 - Off Coast of Bio Bio

Chile Quake_ 120211
© USGSEarthquake Location
Date-Time:
Saturday, February 12, 2011 at 01:17:03 UTC

Friday, February 11, 2011 at 10:17:03 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location:
36.985°S, 73.077°W

Depth
14.8 km (9.2 miles) set by location program

Region
BIO-BIO, CHILE

Distances
15 km (10 miles) S of Concepcion, Bio-Bio, Chile

85 km (50 miles) NW of Los Angeles, Bio-Bio, Chile

85 km (55 miles) NE of Lebu, Bio-Bio, Chile

450 km (280 miles) SSW of SANTIAGO, Region Metropolitana, Chile

Igloo

Europe: 'Beast From the East' Roars In With More Snow

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© Unknown

In coming days, the “beast from the East” could bring chaos similar to the pre-Christmas whiteout
Winter is set to roar back to Britain with a vengeance this week as a Russian weather front threatens another big freeze.

And there will be no let-up until well into March, say weather experts.

In coming days, the "beast from the East" could bring snow chaos similar to the pre-Christmas whiteout.

Scotland and the North will be worst hit, with up to two inches of snow and ­temperatures as low as -10C. The South will not escape the icy blasts, with temperatures sinking to -5C.

Jonathan Powell, of Positive Weather Solutions, said: "Nowhere is safe, although the North is really in the line of fire.

Question

Louisiana, US: Students burned, mysterious cause

Around two-dozen high school students come home, in the middle of winter with what looks like... Get this--- a sunburn.

Now, parents and teachers want to know how this happened.

It's a mystery in the community of Hathaway and it has people burning to know the answers.

"We don't know what caused it," parent, Donald Demary said.

"We just kept trying to find answers," Hathaway High Principal Mona Miller said.

On Wednesday, about two dozen Hathaway High School students came back from a field trip with what appears to be a sunburn.


Satellite

Satellites Spy Changes to Earth's Magnetic Field

magnetic field
© Unknown
Though the process can take nearly 5,000 years, the earth's magnetic field periodically reverses. According to a report published today in Nature, scientists may have detected the beginning of the field's next such reversal.

Motion of the earth's liquid core, the so-called geodynamo, generates its magnetic field. Gauthier Hulot of the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris and his colleagues used satellite data recorded 20 years apart to track changes in this field. In two regions of the boundary between the earth's core and the overlying mantle, the researchers detected a reversed magnetic field. In a section lying beneath the southern tip of Africa, the magnetic field points toward the center of the earth opposite to the dominant outward-pointing field of the Southern Hemisphere. And a second congregation of reversed-flux patches exists near the North Pole. Having modeled the growth and movement of these inverted-flux sections, they can now account for nearly the entire decrease in the main dipole field of the earth over the past 150 years.

Igloo

US: Oklahoma City shatters previous cold record

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© The Oklahoman
A second major winter storm in two weeks blew through the state Wednesday, producing more than 2 feet of snow in parts of northeast Oklahoma and wind chills lower than minus 20 in the Panhandle.


Just as Oklahomans were recovering from last week's blizzard, another blast of frostbite-inducing wind chills and heavy snowfall battered the state.

The second major winter storm in less than two weeks blew through much of the state Wednesday, producing more than 2 feet of snow in parts of northeast Oklahoma and wind chills lower than minus 20 in the Panhandle.

"It was a bit nippy," said Harold Tyson, who wore three layers of clothes as he cleared the parking lot in front of his Guymon office with a tractor that had no cab.

"We've had quite a bit of that lately," said Tyson, the Texas County emergency management director. "You just don't stay out too long."

The storm caused slick roads, drifting snow and school closures throughout Oklahoma as a state of emergency that Gov. Mary Fallin declared last week remained in effect.

Conditions were less severe in the Oklahoma City area than other places. Snow totaling about 6 inches was recorded at Will Rogers World Airport. Many schools throughout the metro area will be closed again today. Administrators said they are concerned about hazardous roads and subfreezing temperatures.

Attention

Cold snap set to wipe out 16 percent of Mexico's staple food

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© ReutersMaize tortillas are Mexico's traditional staple food
A spell of unusually cold weather in northern Mexico has severely damaged the maize crop in the state of Sinaloa.

Officials estimate the losses could amount to four million tonnes of corn - 16% of Mexico's annual harvest.

President Felipe Calderon said everything possible must be done to re-sow the fields over the next two weeks.

There are fears the losses could force up the price of the corn tortillas that most Mexicans eat with every meal.

Officials say up to 600,000 hectares (1.5m acres) of maize have been lost to frost in Sinaloa, which is home to some of Mexico's richest farmland.

Attention

Mexico loses 80-100% of crops to freeze, US prices to skyrocket

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The cold weather experienced across much of the US in early February made its way deep into Mexico and early reports estimate 80-100 percent crop losses which are having an immediate impact on prices at US grocery stores with more volatility to come.

Wholesale food suppliers have already sent notices to supermarket retailers describing the produce losses in Mexico and the impact shoppers can expect. Sysco sent out a release (pdf) this week stating the early February freeze reached as far south as Los Mochis and south of Culiacan, both located in the state of Sinaloa, along the Gulf of California. The freezing temperatures were the worst the region has seen since 1957.

According to Sysco's notice sent out this week:
"The early reports are still coming in but most are showing losses of crops in the range of 80 to 100%. Even shade house product was hit by the extremely cold temps. It will take 7-10 days to have a clearer picture from growers and field supervisors, but these growing regions haven't had cold like this in over half a century."